Individual differences in salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase in mothers and their infants: Relation to tobacco smoke exposure
Abstract
Tobacco smoke exposure affects the activity of both the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). Statistics reveal 41 million children in the U.S. are regularly exposed to tobacco smoke, but we know little about the effects of environmental tobacco smoke exposure on HPA and SNS activity in early childhood. This study assayed cotinine (a metabolite of nicotine), cortisol, and alpha-amylase (sAA) in the saliva of mother-infant dyads from 197 low income and ethnically diverse families. The dyads were identified as tobacco smoke exposed (N = 82) or nonexposed (N = 115) based on maternal self-reports of smoking and salivary cotinine levels greater or less than 10 ng/ml. As expected, higher rates of maternal smoking behavior were associated with higher levels of cotinine in mothers' and their infants' saliva. On average, smoking mothers' salivary cotinine levels were 281 times higher compared to their nonsmoking counterparts, and 23 times higher compared to their own infant's salivary cotinine levels. Infants of smoking mothers had salivary cotinine levels that were four times higher than infants with nonsmoking mothers. Mothers who smoked had higher salivary cortisol levels and lower sAA activity compared to nonsmoking mothers. There were no associations between maternal smoking behavior, infant's salivary cotinine levels, or tobacco exposure group, and cortisol or sAA measured in infant's saliva. The findings are discussed in relation to the influence of smoking tobacco on the validity of salivary biomarkers of stress.
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Salivary α-amylase was higher in African American infants at 5, 10, and 12 months than European American infants.
“Salivary α-amylase, an enzyme produced by salivary glands and a relatively new measure of individual differences in sympathetic stress reactivity in infants (Granger et al., 2006), was found to be higher in African American infants at 5, 10, and 12 months than European American infants (Granger et al., 2007;Hill-Soderlund et al., 2008).”
From Mother-infant vagal regulation in the face-to-face still-face paradigm is moderated by maternal sensitivity (2009) · cites this paper as Granger et al., 2007
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References 47 · Cited by 83
- Authors
- Granger, D. A., Blair, C., Willoughby, M., Kivlighan, K. T., Hibel, L. C., Fortunato, C. K., & Wiegand, L. E.
- Affiliations
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Granger, Douglas A.
- Venue
- Developmental Psychobiology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2007-10-17
- Volume
- 49
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 692-701
- ISSN
- 0012-1630 (ISSN-L)
- 1098-2302
- OpenAlex
- W2066531209
- Cited by
- 83
- References
- 47
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 2.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Developmental Psychobiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01 HD39667, P01HD039667)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
- Keywords
- tobacco smoke exposure, environmental tobacco smoke, maternal smoking, salivary cortisol, salivary amylase, cotinine, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, sympathetic nervous system, stress biomarkers, infant stress response, mother-infant dyads, low-income households
- MeSH terms
- Acids, Aldehydic, Adolescent, Adult, alpha-Amylases, Arousal, Autonomic Nervous System, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Individuality, Infant, Male, Mothers, Nicotine, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Prospective Studies, Psychopathology, Psychosocial Deprivation, Risk Factors, Saliva, Social Environment, Socioeconomic Factors, Sympathetic Nervous System, Temperament, Tobacco Smoke Pollution
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